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Soviet Navy
While best known for their deadly submarine fleets, the rest of the Soviet Navy is just as fearsome as their submarine counterparts. Based out of Vladivostok in the East and controlling the Baltic Sea in the West, the Soviet Navy is just as direct as their comrades on land, with fleets of powerful missile cruisers, destroyers, frigates, strike craft and battlecruisers. Though sometimes considered less able to handle variant tasks than other navies, the designs of Soviet naval vessels are true to the Soviets' straightforward nature. The raw firepower of Soviet ships, combined with their unmatched survivability, makes them a force to be reckoned with on the seas. =Escorts= Skorpion-class Patrol Boat In the days leading up to World War II, the Soviets realised the need for a naval anti aircraft platform. While submarines could take care of any naval threat, the Soviet Navy had nothing in their inventory that could handle threats such torpedo bombers, dive bombers, and carrier borne fighter bombers. The Soviets considered a number of solutions to this problem, including an anti aircraft submarine, cruisers armed with heavy anti aircraft weaponry, and so on. After these designs were all found to have major flaws of some sort, the Soviets finally found themselves a winner. Combining speed and flexibility with a cheap, minimalist design, the Skorpion was designed to be as simple as possible, with a crew of 22 and a streamlined hull. The three motor engines gave it a top speed of 40 knots, while the 100mm flak cannon could down aircraft with rapid salvos of airbursting shells and four 23mm autocannons and a variable number of machine guns (depending on how many the crew fitted onto it) would attack those that got too close for comfort. While this alone would have gotten it a place in the Soviet Navy, it was the flexibility of the flak cannon that convinced Soviet Command of its usefulness. The flak cannon was mounted on a simple but effective mount that allowed unrestricted traverse, allowing it to engage other ships in addition to serving in anti-air duties. The Skorpion proved cheap enough to manufacture in massive numbers, and soon they were seeing combat in all theatres of the war, serving as escorts, guard boats, and even naval scouts. Their initial deployment came as a bad shock to the Allied Navy, which until then had been enjoying unprecedented success with its aircraft carriers. Even today, the Skorpion is still used by the Soviet Navy, though it has been supplanted in frontline service by the amphibious Bullfrog and Ekranoplan. Stingray-class Strike Craft Main Article: Stingray Manta-class Ekranoplan Main Article: Manta Ekranoplan =Submarines= Typhoon-class Attack Submarine Dating back to the Second World War, the Typhoon is a time honoured and battle tested design. While nowhere nearly as powerful or capable as the Akula submarine, the Typhoon is much easier to produce, a fact which would explain why it is has been referred to as the workhorse of the Soviet Navy. In fact, Typhoon-class submarines are so numerous that they just fall short of outnumbering nearly all of the other submarines in the Soviet navy combined. During World War II, the Typhoon was a formidable tool, armed with unguided RU-5 torpedoes and operating in large wolfpacks in order to hunt convoys carrying vital supplies across the Atlantic. Over 3,500 cargo ships were sunk over a period of six years, although the Typhoon fleet also suffered tremendous losses following the introduction of the Ironclad-class Destroyers. Though the navy phased out the RU-5 a long time ago and has since moved on to the guided RU-7, the Typhoon's design has remained essentially unchanged since its introduction in WWII. The steel hull, periscopes and diesel engine are less effective than the components used on the advanced Akula, but are much easier to maintain and construct. Akula-class Attack Submarine Main Article: Akula Sub Orca-class Submarine Lander Main Article: Orca Lander Hammerhead-class Ballistic Missile Submarine Main Article: Hammerhead Ballistic Sub =Destroyers= Rodina-class Destroyer Allied naval doctrine revolves around its carrier groups, relying on aircraft carriers to provide offensive striking power while screens of escorts provide protection against ships, submarines, and aerial threats. Soviet naval doctrine, on the other hand, is centred on missile armed warships and attack submarines. Despite the difference in doctrine, both navies continue to require vessels capable of dealing with other ships. The Rodina-class is one such class of naval vessels. Designed as an anti-ship destroyer and the Soviet Union's principal surface naval combatant, the Rodina-class is intended to tackle Allied naval vessels such as the Assault Destroyer head on. To this end, it forgoes the capability to support shore operations entirely in favour of performing in a dedicated anti-ship capacity. This specialisation makes the Rodina-class a naval vessel on par with the Imperial Japanese Navy's Naginata-class cruisers. The primary and hardest hitting armament of the Rodina-class consists of a loadout of anti-ship missiles. These missiles are capable of wrecking another ship should they score a direct hit, and they allow a Rodina-class destroyer to engage from significant range. Since only so many missiles could be carried on one ship, the Rodina-class destroyers are also fitted with a single twin 100mm gun turret, as well as a pair of torpedo tubes, allowing it to engage other ships at close range. The torpedo tubes can also be used against submarines to some effect, though the task of hunting submarines is best left to dedicated anti-submarine warships. The ship's steel hull can take a heavy beating, in typical Soviet fashion, and a Tesla reactor powers the ship, allowing the Rodina-class to outrun or catch up with other warships. Despite the advantages of the Rodina-class, however, it had several disadvantages. For one, the missiles, while powerful, were known to be rather unreliable, and on more than one occasion they ended up missing their target or being intercepted by anti-air defences. Furthermore, the ships were expensive; between the need for a skilled maintenance crew to service its complex systems, the trained crew required to operate it, the costly anti-ship missiles and the powerful but complex engines that granted the Rodina its speed, the price tag was more than many Soviet naval officers could swallow. The political influence of the Soviet Submariner Corps was another issue, as they pushed for submarines over surface warships like the Rodina-class, so priority ended up being given over to Akula construction instead. Between all these factors, not as many Rodinas were constructed as some officers in the Soviet Navy might have liked, and for the most part the Soviet Union's inventory of surface anti-ship vessels is largely made up of older, considerably less capable warships. Sverdlov-class Destroyer The introduction of the Payne-class Subhunter Frigate was a devastating blow to the Soviet anti-shipping operations in the Pacific. These "Q-ships" consistently lured Akula wolfpacks into attacking, before slaughtering them with their deadly torpedoes. Eventually, the entire naval channel was clear by late 1967 and Akula wolfpacks could barely do anything to stop Allied shipping from continuing unabated. While a lucky pair of RU-20s might find its mark occasionally, the Subhunter Frigates usually made sure to see them off before they could do any more damage. With fresh supplies pouring in from the United States, the tide of the European war began to turn. Fresh Allied troops and machines began to push back the battle-weary Soviet soldiers, and to their shock, the Soviets began to find themselves on the losing side. In desperation, the Soviets demanded a warship capable of continuing the harassment on the Allied shipping lanes. Some of the best naval engineers in the Union cracked their heads over the problem, but the solution was not to be an easy one. A submarine would hardly be able to carry the firepower needed to sink the Allies' Assault Destroyers. Eventually though, a solution was found. One wolfpack of Akulas was successful in crippling a convoy even with the new Subhunter Frigates through superior tactics. Three Akulas surfaced 20 km away from the convoy; the convoy quickly took evasive action and moved away, right into the waiting sights of the torpedo tubes of the remaining 12 Akulas. Since then, the Allies have ordered the convoy to turn towards, not away from the charging Akulas, since running exposes the vulnerable merchant ships, while charging head on means that the heavier vessels will take the hits instead. The Soviet engineers were quick to realise and exploit that mentality, their new ship influenced by the "Q-ship's" idea of trickery and deception. This new ship was the Sverdlov, a destroyer designed to look like a Soviet submarine on the surface, either coming up for air or moving in for the attack. However, unlike genuine submarines, Sverdlovs are not designed to submerge, freeing them from many constraints . A Sverdlov-class lures in enemy Swans and Subhunters, who expect another Akula kill, but at the last second, the destroyer will reveal its concealed weaponry, an AA flak cannon for aircraft, and a Katyusha rocket launch system for Subhunters. If they need to crack heavier targets, like Assault Destroyers, they are also armed with powerful RU-20 torpedoes. Protected from frontal retaliatory fire by their exceptionally armoured bows, a Sverdlov-class Destroyer charge can be very hard to stop, especially since the destroyers are equipped with high speed water jet propulsion, which lets them close at incredible speeds. Sverdlov-class Destroyers have also proven their worth in conventional naval warfare. Taking the front of the armada, the Sverdlovs will charge head on at the enemy, blanketing them with Katyusha rockets from the sky and torpedoing them from below before continuing straight into the targets. While they do tend to fare badly once they are close enough to expose their vulnerable rear where the water jets are housed, the initial shock and awe they deliver means that they usually punch way above their weight, taking down several enemy capital ships in the first attack. However, Sverdlov-class Destroyers have been decided to be highly situational, and only of any real use in anti-convoy operations. Attempts to prove otherwise by using them in shoreline engagements have generally not ended well, and their relatively small number limits their deployment. Still, on the high seas, the Sverdlov-class Destroyer is a formidable foe. While lacking the range of the Dreadnought, or the power of the Potemkin, the Sverdlov remains the best ship in the Soviet arsenal when it comes to close quarters naval combat. =Bombardment Ships= Dreadnought-class Missile Cruiser Main Article: Dreadnought =Other Ships= Dreadnought-class Battleship See also: Dreadnought When the first Dreadnought-class battleship was first commissioned, it was by and by far the largest ship in the entire Soviet Navy. Built to the be the last word in naval combat, the Dreadnought-class battleships were armed and armoured to the teeth. Each battleship possessed a formidable armament of no less than twelve 306mm naval guns. Specifically meant to sink other ships, the naval guns fired powerful armour piercing or high explosive shells, each capable of splitting a ship in a single shot. Smaller, quicker firing ancillary guns would destroy lesser targets that managed to close the distance, blasting them out of the water before they got the chance to fire their weapons. Thick armour shielded the Dreadnought, making it impervious to all but the most powerful of enemy ordnance. Not long after its introduction around the start of World War II, the Dreadnought-class battleship soon demonstrated that it was virtually unsinkable when matched against other warships. Even the mighty Jutland-class battlecruisers, some of the most powerful ships in the Allied Navy, were barely a match for the Soviet Dreadnoughts. True, the Jutland-class was faster, had larger guns, and possessed quicker reloading autoloaders for its turrets, but the Dreadnoughts boasted more guns and more armour. The Dreadnought-class continued to serve with the Soviet Navy following the Second World War. Their armament would change radically, however, after the successful trial of the Molot V4. Chosen as the new platform for the V4 on account of the fact that it was the largest standard ship class in the Soviet Navy, and the only one capable of handling the mighty Molot V4. The entire class was converted, stripped of their guns and mounted with scores of V4 missiles. The newly refitted Dreadnought-class Missile Cruisers would soon see action again in World War III, ready to blaze a new trail of destruction throughout the seas. Potemkin-class Battleship Main Article: Potemkin Warship Novorossiysk-class Battle Carrier Symbolizing in every way Soviet design philosophy, the Novorossiysk-class Battle Carrier is a fine example of Soviet military might. Massive, armed to the teeth and well armoured to boot, the Novorossiysk-class is a monster of a ship. Only a handful of these ships were ever built, just enough to ensure that at least one of these ships would be available at any one time for their fleets operating in the Baltic, Arctic, Mediterranean, Indian, Black Sea, and Pacific due to their massive expense; even the Soviets have their limits. Dwarfing even the Dreadnought class Missile Cruisers, the humongous ships of the Novorossiysk-class are the largest ships in the Soviet Navy, and quite possibly the largest (conventional) ships in the world. The Novorossiysk's armament is formidable; its main ship to ship weapons are four pairs of 456mm cannons, one mounted at the bow and one mounted aft and one to each side. Supplementing the cannons are multiple V4 missile launchers, which are capable of launching either anti ship ordnance or cruise missiles depending on the situation. These ships are protected from air attacks by 16 quadruple 40mm flak turrets, eight dual purpose twin-linked 130mm guns, and four 203mm dual purpose guns per side which shred any aircraft that dare to come near, while multiple depth charge launchers protect against submarine attacks. The Novorossiysk-class is also equipped with the most modern command and control equipment the Union has to offer, allowing it to serve as a fleet command ship. The hull is heavily reinforced and thickly layered, allowing the Novorossiysk to withstand ungodly levels of punishment. The greatest weapon of the Novorossiysk may be in fact its multipurpose bay, which can serve as either a huge hangar for a swarm of Soviet aircraft, a cargo hold for transporting huge numbers of Soviet troops, or a makeshift launch platform for ballistic missiles. This capability was demonstrated in the Battle of the Bering Strait, when one of the bays was converted into a launch pad for a massive ballistic missile, and the other into a hangar for a number of Kirov airships. The crew is (reasonably) well provided for, at least by Soviet standards; to a Dreadnought captain or crew member, the conditions onboard a Novorossiysk would seem luxurious by comparison. In order to power these massive ships, a total of four masssive Tesla Reactors had to be installed. Even with the sheer power output that the Tesla Reactors provide, the speed of a Novorossiysk-class Battle Carrier is at best, plodding. These ships have seen little combat, if only because they are so few; their greatest impact was in the Battle of the Bering Strait, where two Novorossiysk-class Battle Carriers were committed to action. It is unlikely that the Soviets will try to surpass the Novorossiysk anytime soon; but one never knows... Category:Lore